Verified By Apollo Hospitals September 17, 2024
Anti-Social Personality Disorder (ASPD), also referred to as ‘sociopathy’, is a mental condition that causes the patient to consistently disregard social rules and to antagonize others bordering towards criminal behavior.
Patients with antisocial personality disorder are often impulsive, haphazard and manipulative. They feel no guilt for their behavior and may end up being criminals violating laws. People with ASPD also fail in fulfilling their responsibilities at work, school or home.While ASPD is an uncommon condition, men are more likely than women to be affected by antisocial personality disorder.
The causes for antisocial personality disorder are unknown. However, it can be triggered by the given factors:
Other factors that may be linked to the risk of antisocial personality disorder are:
The symptoms of antisocial personality disorder include:
Patients with antisocial personality do not realize that they need medical help. In many cases, due to symptoms such as anxiety, depression and arrogance, their family and friends may encourage them to seek medical help. Mostly, patients with an antisocial personality may not provide accurate details of symptoms to the doctor. However, these details can be procured after interacting with family and friends.
Diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder is based on the following factors:
Antisocial personality disorder cannot be diagnosed before 18 years of age. The signs and symptoms may be observed in childhood or early teenage that may increase with age.
It is difficult to treat individuals with an antisocial personality disorder. However, they can seek medical and psychological help to treat personality disorders including medications and psychotherapy.
Psychotherapy, often referred to as ‘talk therapy’ is used for the treatment of antisocial personality disorder. It includes treatment of substance abuse, violence, anger and so on.
There are no specific medications for the treatment of antisocial personality disorder. However, doctors may prescribe medications for symptoms such as anxiety, depression and aggression.